ocular migraine head slams hole in wall / by Philip Tarlow

5:06 PM: yesterday i got an ocular migraine mid day. i get them about every 2 weeks. if you’re not familiar,

. A migraine aura involving your vision will affect both eyes, and you may see:

  • Flashes of light

  • Zigzagging patterns

  • Blind spots

  • Shimmering spots or stars

usually, i just sit down and close my eyes and wait 15-20 minutes until it dissipates. yesterday, i was upset as a result of some distressing back and forth i was having online, so i neglected to sit down. after 5 minutes or so, holding a cup of matcha tea, i turned my body to do something, got extremely dizzy and fell pretty hard onto my cement studio floor, smashing my head into the wall and breaking a hole in it, as you see here.

i was pretty shaken up, and felt like i had a concussion, albeit a mild one. i also smashed my forearm into the wall, which is swollen & black & blue. I feel very grateful it wasn’t a brick wall, or something solid like that!

so, no painting today; we’ll see how i feel tomorrow. and from now on, whenever i get an ocular migrain, i’m ging to do what i usually do; sit right down & stay seated until it passes.